Improved machine for removing moulded forms from the press



@uiten gta-trs atmtffirr.

GEORGE IATTEN, 0F CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA. Letters Patent No.' 72,5%,dated December 24, 1867; articulated December 7, 1867.

IMPROVfBD MACHINE FOR REMOVING MOULDED FORMS FROM THE PRESS.

tlgt tlgrtule referrals in ttm @eine tteut mit mating putt nf tige una.

TO ALL WHOM I'Il MAY CONCERN:

Be itrknown that I, (irEORGrEA PATTEN, of Chster, in the county ofDelaware, and' State of Pennsylvania, .have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Machinery for Removing Moulded Forms from the Press; and`Ido herebyr declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the construction and operation of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawing, and the letters of reference markedthereon, forming part of this specification. In the drawingl, I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine, with' reeeiving-earriage-Figure 2 is a plan of the same. i

Figure 3 is an end elevation, showing in dotted lines thedischarge-position of the conveyor.

Figure 4 is a vertical section through the axis of solid shaft Si andmiddle of conveyor, showing palms in discharge-position.

Figure 5 is a cross-section of'shaft on x x.

Figure 6'is a cross-section of shaft on .y y.

Figure 7 is a cross-section of shaft on z z..

` Figure 8 is a cross-section of arm E, showing pendent stud foroperating spring-detent q.

Figure 9 is a'vertical section on t t', iig. 2, showing rocking-lever Rand slide f operatingsame.

Similar-letters of reference in the several figures denote the samepart.

The mechanism which constitutes the subject-matter of this invention isdesigned as an adjunct toa machine by'which an artificial building-stoneis moulded from a composition of sand and lime, or any'other suitablematerial admitting of cohesion, the form or block being shaped in a.mould-box, which,A after havingA performed its function, slides down andleaves the finished form or block resting upon thebed of the press readyi for removal. The' nature of the composition is such that the formcannot be pushed from the bed, as in brickmoulding machines,- 'withoutbreaking, but requires to be carefullylifteu therefrom by hand previousto being conveyed to a drying-rack by an oif-bearer. The automaticremoval of these forms from the bed of the press is the object of thisinvention. y

The nature of the invention consists in grasping the moulded form, as itrests upon the bed of the press, between two'adju'stable palms attachedto a conveyor, the form thus grasped being carried to and deposited uponaosuitable receiver, the grasping -and releasing of the form and feedingof 'the receiver being performed automatically by the mechanism whichoperates the conveyor.- i l i In the drawing, W represents the-bed ofthe press, from which themoulded form is to be carried olf. i C is acrane-arm, secured to a vertical hollow shaft, S, stepped at a, and heldby guide-block 6. This shaft isl movable ninety degrees by the arm e oflthe enclosed'solid shaft s', engaging the edge of the opening in thehollow shaft, through which the said `arm passes, ,the powerto-"r'novethe entire mechanism being applied to this arm c. The extremity of thearm Gwidens and forms the carrying-head H, in slots d d, fig. 4, ofwhich move slides e e, which, by means of the hangers ff, carry thehorizontal bars B B. Connected with these bars, by

the screwbolts-'z', are the palms I P, 4between which and the bars B areinserted the cylinders gg, of rubber or other suitable elasticsubstance. The bolts are permanently fastened to the palms, so that,bythe nuts h h, the palms are made to approach or recede from the barsB, thus aifording a delicate adjustment of the space between .the palms.`'Ihe upper surfaces of slides c have pins, n, engaging slots, m, in theopposite ends ofa vibrating plate, D, which moves upon a central bolt,Z, passing throughr the head `H, the effect of this'vibration being tomove the slides e e back and forth in the slots d, and thus move thepalms P. The plate D is acted upon by springs w, to give motion in thedirection which moves the slides e outward; and powerapplied to thestudo, upon the top of the plate, carries it in the direction whichcloses the slides. 'When thei'sl-ides e e are carried inward, and thepalms P closed, the plate D is held in position by the spring-detent q.Secured to the solid shaft s', and passing through an opening iu'thehollow shaftS, is the arm E, on one'side of which is the pendent stud r,shown fully in iig. 8. Upon the hollow shaft S, below the arm C, is thearm A, whose collar, u, turns freely upon the hollow shaft, and issupported by the projection u on the shaft. This arm A carries a plate,shaped as shown in iig. 2, and operated.. as will be hereinafter setforth. Below the arm A, and movable upon the hollow shaft S, is thefeed-arm G. This arm extends over the ratchet R on the carriage-frame I,the pawl .17, on its extremity, engaging said ratchet. Upon the uppersurface of the collar of this arm is a-spring-eatch, x, fig. 7, whosepoint presses against the shaft, fand, at the proper time, engages thenotch e therein. The

- backward motion of the arm is limited by the standard L, the shaft Sslipping within the collar y during the remainder of its movement. Thespringt, upon the standard M, gives this arm G a tendency towards thestandard L, thus causing the shaft S to carry it until it comes incontact with the said standard. The standardA M, also, carries a spring,z, which acts upon the arm A, giving ita tendency towards the table ofthe receiver.

The operation o f the machine is as folloows: Starting with the conveyorover the bed W of thr` press, the palms embracing but not touchingthemoulded form, power is applied to the arm c of the shaft s', turningsaid shaft within the hollow shaft S suiiiciently far for the arm E, bypressing on stud o, to turn the plate-D about its centre boltvZ, untilits lip, d', is caught by the spring-fdetcnt q. This causes the form tobe grasped by the palms P P. The arm c, at this instant, reaches theextent of the opening in the hollow"shaft yS, and, pressing against itsedge, turns the hollow shaft, carrying the moulded form from off thc bedof the press and upon the plate F. When the entire form is upon theplate F, the foot of the stud a', pendent from the head IL forces backthe detentrb, and releases the plate F from its connection with thepress. A t the same time this foot engages the protruding lip m of therocking-lever catch R', shown in detail in g. 9, and causes the plate Fto move with'the conveyor towards the receiving-table T. When the edge-eof the plate F is nearly in contact with the table T, the projecting endof the slide f encounters the edge thereof. The slide f is forced back,carrying the lip m ofthe rocking-lever catch R below thesurface of theplate F, and elevating the lip n above the surface. This permits` thepalms and the grasped form to pass from the plate F to the table T, andwhen the palms are parallel with the edge of the table the motionceases. The shaft S turns within the collar y of arm G, until the pointof `the catch :c engages the notch e in said shaft. Then the arm Grmoves with the shaft S, and the receiving-carriagefis moved therequisite distance for the reception of the moulded form. This motionterminates at the same instant that the conveyor stops. The foot of thehollow shaft and its step are so constructed that at the commencement ofthe motion of the conveyor, after the form is grasped, the shaft and allthat it carries arelift'ed about the sixteenth f an inch, thus causingthe form to clear the bed of the4 press at the commencement of' itsmotion, and also tovpass clear of the table T after leaving the plate F.At the termination of the movement, the shaft settles to its originalposition, and the form rests upon the table, still grasped by thepalms.4 vThe reverse movement of the solid shaft s now begins. Duringthe passage of the arm e, within 'the opening through the hollow shaftS, the arm E is moved in the reverse direction from that which closedthe palms, causing the stud r to press on the tail of the detent q andrelease the vibrating-plate D. This plate, moving'under the action ofthe springs w, moves the slides e outward, opens the palms'P P to theposition shown in dotted lines, g. 3, and releases the moulded form. Thearm e now meets the edge ofthe opening through the hollow shaft, givingit motion and carrying it to the position from which it started. The4spring z, acting against the arm A, retains the plate F against thetable T, until the foot of the stud a encounters the projecting lip nofthe rocking-lever R', and carries the plate with the palms. .When theplate nears the face of the press, the protruding end of the slide f(the opposite from that which projected during the forward movement) isforced back by this` face, carryingi downward the lip n', and permittingthe palms to pass from the plate to' the bed of the press. At theinstant of release of thestud a by `lip n', the spring-detent I1.

engages the face of the bed W, and holds the plate F until it is'released by the return of the conveyor, as before set forth. At thebeginning of the return-movement of the conveyor, the arm G, underpressure of the spring t, moves with vthe shaft S, carrying the pawl'pbackward over the ratchet R, until the standard L is encountered; thearm then stops, and the shaft S turns within the collar y, the detcnt :cslipping from the notch e as the shaft turns from it. v

All parts being now in the position from which they started, the severaloperations just described are repeated, and another form delivered, themovement of the arm c, which prodlices the entire hction, being governedby the machinery' operating the press in which the moulding isperformed.

VAlthough the functions of the mechanism here considered end with thedeposit of the form upon the table of the receiver, it will not be outof place to state that the top of this table is designed to be removablefrom the frame, so that when the receiver is rolled to the end of thedrying-rack with its load of moulded forms, this top will beautomatically lifted from the frame and deposited upon the drying-rack.The mechanism by which this is accomplished, and the top with its loadstowed away in its proper place upon the rack, will form the subject ofa distinct patent, and need not be more particularly mentioned in thisconnection; this mention being made merely to show that the inventionabove described is the first part of a claim of mechanism by which themoulded forms are automatically taken from the press and deposited in'their places on the drying-machs.

Having deseribedvmy invention, and the operation of the same, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The adjustable palms P P, in combination with the slides e e andvibrating-lever plate D, or their equivalents, automatically operated tograsp a moulded form with the pressure requisite for removal,substantially as set forth. Y y' 2. Automatically grasping and releasingmoulded forms by the action of the conveying-mechanism, substantially asset forth.

8.v The combination of the feed-arm with the conveyor and receiver,substantially as set forth.

4. The plate F, or its equivalent, constructed and operatingsubstantially as setY forth.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this first day ofMay, 1867.

GEO. PATTEN.

Witnesses E. Parres, E. SPEIGHT.

